WARNING – Long post! I realize that this is an old publication, but for readers looking for advice to place the mosaic, I have some recommendations. I also chose 1 ″ hexadecimal for my first mosaic job. Ignorance is happiness. Here are some things I did and I would do it differently if I did.
The most important thing, do your homework. Do not trust sales personnel in the tile hall in the large box store to provide the right advice. I can’t stress this enough. I read for about 4 months of a great free forum, John Bridge Tile Forum, and asked many questions (you can also read everything about the mistakes of others and learn from them). The professionals in the John Bridge forum, bless their hearts, are so patient and thorough to answer even the stupid questions. Use the search function on the site … Someone is likely to ask your question before. This forum was my main source of information, and they did not do me wrong.
Often, the premium materials used by professionals do not come from Home Depot or Lowe’s, but, of course, sales staff of the large box store will sell what they have. It could be fine, or not. Again, John Bridge professionals can give you recommendations.
Along the same lines, learn the terms. Thinset is what you use to «paste» the chips down. The grout is what you use to fill the gaps. Should you wear a sanded or fiery slim? Use the correct size and type of «flat» for the mosaic you are putting to extend your thinset. Read and follow the instructions. If the thinset needs to be configured for 10 minutes, do it. If you use 1 ″ hexadecimal, use the recommended plain to prevent the Thinset from praying between tiles. It is not fun to dig it with a toothpick. Buy the huge yellow sponge to clean the grout (according to the correct period of time to allow you to reaffirm something). Buy a rubber «float» to force the grout to the joints. Learn to use «Nippers»: it only requires patience and nibble a little at the same time. You must have a «scorer» manual mosaic. Practice. (Sorry, there is probably a more professional term for it). A decent wet saw is around 25.00 in large box stores and is easy to learn to use. Wait, but it is essential to make clean cuts. Buy the correct size spacers. None of these tools costs a lot. It could continue, but the conclusion is that you will need «accessories» to do a professional -looking job.
Finally, participate in the preparation of the floor before placing the mosaic. My biggest mistake and ruined all the work. But it was too late. A carpenter does not necessarily know what to do to prepare a floor for mosaics. I knew this, but I didn’t catch my carpenter in time and thought that if I put additional screws, it would be fine. No. You must paste the cement board to the subsoil with Thinset, the same glue you use to adhere the tiles and, while the thinset is wet, screw the cement board to the subsoil. This avoids the movement of the weight of the weight and the temperature changes. It does not need much movement to make the grout break continuously everywhere everywhere. And he will. Ask me how I know. Its only resource is to periodically replace the grout (often) or remove the mosaic and cement plate and start over. It ruined all my work.
One more thing, (promise), consider using the Schleuter system. It adds to the cost, but it results in a work of does not fail, without leaks. John Bridge and moderators in the forum believe in the products. You can order the online Schleuter materials and the forum provides an electronic book with detailed instructions. I used the system and it seemed easy to install.
I hope I have been useful. Any girl can do this correctly, you just need to educate and use a professional source of information.
Once you experience mosaic, visiting the tile hall will bring you a feeling of empowerment and joy. :)))))
